Various compositions are known to be useful as treating agents to provide surface effects to substrates. Surface effects include repellency to moisture, oil, and stains, and other effects, which are particularly useful for fibrous substrates and other substrates such as hard surfaces. Many such treating agents are fluorinated polymers or copolymers containing one or more perfluoroalkyl groups.
Honda et al., in Macromolecules, 2005, 38, 5699-5705 show that for perfluoroalkyl chains of 8 carbons or greater, orientation of the perfluoroalkyl groups is maintained in a parallel configuration, while reorientation occurs for such chains having 6 carbon atoms or less. Such reorientation decreases surface properties such as receding contact angle. Thus, shorter chain perfluoroalkyls have traditionally not been successful commercially.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,376 discloses a preparation of (meth)acrylate monomers derived from fluoroalcohols having a perfluoroalkyl group having 6 or more carbon atoms linked to a vinylidine fluoride and ethylene linking groups. Pending patent application U.S. Ser. No. 11/712,324 discloses a copolymer composition derived from fluoroalcohols having 2 to 6 carbon atoms linked to vinylidene fluoride and ethylene linking groups, and copolymerized with nonfluorinated alkyl(meth)acrylates monomers and/or certain amino(meth)acrylates.
Customer requirements for these products are in a state of constant evolution, and there is a continuing need for new cost-effective, environmentally friendly chemical intermediates and products. Industry is constantly searching for compounds with minimum environmental impact, lower cost, and higher fluorine efficiency. In particular there is a need for additional fluorochemicals that impart significant water repellency, oil repellency, stain resistance, soil resistance, stain release, or wicking to fibrous substrates and hard surface substrates, wherein in some of the expensive fluorocarbon moieties have been replaced with less expensive and more readily biodegradable moieties. The present invention provides such compositions.